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As The Race For 2027 Hots Up
There is a wave of excitement presently sweeping across the political landscape in the country. It is spreading like wild fire. It is the currently trending news suggesting that there could be a possible alliance between the former President Goodluck Jonanthan and former governor of Kano State, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP. Everyone is talking about it. Many have been reaching out to friends and acquaintances, asking for confirmation of the news. Some are already in jubilant mood, believing that if the news is real, then there is hope on the horizon for Nigeria and Nigerians by 2027 when Nigerians will go to the polls again to cast their votes.
To say the excitement this news has stirred within and outside the political circle has been intense would be putting it mildly. And the reason is obvious. A lot of Nigerians see these two distinguished gentlemen as leaders who understand the dynamics involved in running the economy of a massive nation like Nigeria. Many have argued that, compared to what is obtainable today, the Nigerian economy was in a much better condition when former President Goodluck Jonathan was at the helm of affairs. Today, Nigerians are groaning under the weight of the conomic policies of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. And though the federal government can be seen to be making spirited efforts to get the country out of the woods and meet the expectations of the people, there is still palpable hunger in the land. The Tinubu economic policies, which have been variously described as ‘brilliant and appropriate’ by both local and foreign economic experts, are yet to yield the desired results. The people are clamouring for a change of baton, a new but tested and trusted leadership that will completely change the narrative for the better. And if the online comments and reactions are anything to go by, then the Jonathan/ Kwankwaso alliance, for them, is the way forward come 2027.
Many Nigerians still think very highly of the former president despite that he has been out of office for several years. They remember his good natured personality, his simplicity and empathy for Nigerians who elected him into office to bring them good governance and elevate their standard of living. They argue that you could see the committment with which he ran the nation’s economy and the sincerity with which he led his administration and the country as a whole. He was a listening leader. He was an effetive leader. He was a sincere and transparent leader who never tried to short change the citizens. His only minus, his admirers have insisted, was that he was not fortunate to have with him and around him people who share in his aspirations and vision of how a people should be governed. But, regardless, he left his indelible mark on the sands of time and made a name for himself as possibly the most impactful and sincere president Nigeria has ever had. For Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the wellbeing of Nigerians and their happiness mattered most to him than politics or desire for power.
Many still remember with a huge sense of gratitude how one simple action by the former president saved this nation from what could’ve been an unprecedented chaos and anarchy. In 2015, when the results of the presidential elections started coming in and it was obvious where the pendulum was swinging, Goodluck Jonathan as the sitting president, rather than try to resist the outcome of the election by subverting the electoral power and the wishes of the people as expressed by their votes, he chose to take the honourable path. He did what no other Nigerian president had ever done – he put a call through to the President-elect at the time, Muhammadu Buhari, and congratulated him. This was a move that was not hailed or approved by his aides and prominent members of is government. But the man felt it didn’t matter to him what they thought of his action, what mattered to him was his conscience and the safety and well being of the Nigerian people. Rejecting the results of the elections could’ve resulted in anarchy of immense scale and proportion and that was the last thing Jonathan wanted to see. Having such bloody and unpleasant incident attached to his name would’ve broken his heart. Because that is not who he was. And till today, he has remained that man who places his country above himself and expects everyone else to do same, no matter how strong your hunger for power is. He is a man that has shown clearly, like the legendary Aminu Kano, that politics should not be a matter of life and death or at the very least, a matter of bitterness. If you truly desire to serve the people, then you would not put in harm’s way the lives of the very people you claim you want to offer selfless service to.
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on the other hand, needs little or no introduction himself. He is a former two time governor of Kano State and a former senator who represented Kano Central senatorial district under the All Progressives Party (APC) at the time. He also contested for president a couple of times, including the last presidential election. He is currently the national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party. Kwankwaso enjoys widespread support in Kano and north-western Nigeria; he has been viewed as a charismatic populist. In 2011, he was re-elected governor of the state and went on to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014. In 2015, Kwankwaso unsuccessfully contested the presidential primaries nomination under the opposition All Progressive Congress, but lost to Muhammad Buhari. In 2018, he returned to People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and contested the presidential primaries losing out to Atiku Abubakar.
Without a doubt, the gentleman has shown that he is indeed a power house when it comes to politics at the highest level in Nigeria. He is no push over. He enjoys tremendous support that cuts across party and religious affiliations. And from his two spells as governor of Kano State, he has proven that he is an immensely knowledgeable and capable administrator and the well being of his people of Kano State has never taken second place in his priority list. Like Jonathan, he also abhors violence. He detests politics with bitterness. And he has no place for corrupt minded politicians who think of nothing but to loot the national treasury blind at the expense of the Nigerian masses. This is why many believe that a combination of Jonathan and Kwankwaso at the helm of affairs come 2027 would be nothing short of a guaranteed turn around for the country.
The country’s economy is in dire straits at the moment and Nigerians, understandably, are looking everywhere for possible solutions, including a possible change of leadership by the ballot box, come 2027. And if you ask majority of Nigerians, going by the reactions that have greeted the news of thir alliance, a Jonathan/Kwankwaso government might just be it for them. From what City People gathered, the former president has already paid a visit to the home of the NNPP leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and information made available to City People is that a whole lot, ranging from state of the nation to the possible prospects of this alliance, were thoroughly discussed. Nigrians should not be surprised if the news of a merger between the NNPP and the PDP is broken in the coming months or months leading to the 2027 presidential election.
Which ever way it goes, Nigerians are looking forward to a better tomorrow, one which they believe can only materialise with Jonathan and Kwankwaso at the helm of affairs.
-WALE LAWAL
(08037209290)
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